With the Supercommittee Dead, What Happens to the Farm Bill?

By Marion Nestle

The chairs of the agriculture committee have been meeting in secret to recommend how to cut $23 billion from agriculture appropriations

As of this yesterday morning, it looks like the Supercommittee process has failed.
This committee was supposed to recommend specific budget cuts by Monday night. If it fails, automatic budget cuts, half to the military, go
into effect in January 2013 -- after the 2012 election.

What does this mean for the farm bill?

The chairs and vice-chairs of the House and Senate agriculture
committee have been meeting in secret -- from the rest of the agriculture
committee members as well as from the public -- to recommend how to cut $23
billion from agriculture appropriations.

Give USDA the authority to require documented need for states to
allow SNAP benefits to be used in restaurants by the disabled and
homeless.

Give USDA $5 million per year to prevent trafficking of benefits.

Require USDA to set rules to prevent lottery winners from getting SNAP benefits (what is this about?).

Grant $10 million to encourage whole grains in school meals.

Grant $20 million a year for incentives for SNAP recipients to buy fruits and vegetables.

"Specialty" crops (translation: fruits and vegetables):

Fund promotion program for farmers' markets at $20 million a year.

Give USDA $5 million to collect data on organics.

Provide $61 million a year for programs to prevent agricultural pests.

Give $70 million a year for grants to states to promote specialty crops.

Allot $15 million a year to run the National Organic Program.

Provide $40 million a year for specialty crop research.

Provide up to 75 percent of the cost of organic certification (maximum $750).

As in the past, SNAP takes up about 80 percent of the total farm bill
budget, with the remainder going mainly to commodity support and
insurance programs.

As always, large agricultural producers get most of the support
money -- billions of dollars -- but this plan throws a handful of small benefits (millions of dollars) to help fruit-and-vegetable growers.

How any of this might work in practice is unclear, as is what happens
next. A whole new opportunity for lobbying, perhaps. Stay tuned.